Battle of the $50 California Wines

WINE TALK
21

My first response was too quick.
Clos Saron Syrah and basic Pinot hits this spot. Also Garguilo Money Road Ranch cab qualifies in my book. These are kind of unique though imho. For classics, I’ll buy above and below this price point, often in secondary market.

22

Agree. Also, Stony Hill.

23

I will give this a big +1. I dropped by their tasting room a couple days ago and was very impressed by the age ability of their wines. They had a number of older vintages open and they were quite enjoyable, but mere infants. I love the way these Sonoma cabs age.

Also, we have to strongly recommend Bedrock montecillo cab.

24

My wino friends got together for a $50 Cab-off last year:

We did a $25 Cab-off not too long ago:

Short answer: here in NJ / Philly amongst my wine group, Chappellet rules.

25

If you’re young and patient, then buy all the Togni you can afford, and wait [and wait and wait and wait and wait].

Zachys has some auctions of recent vintages right now, starting at $55, and Hart Davis Hart has the 2000, with a measly 89 points from RMP, at $65.

My guess is that a 15-year-old Togni, with 89 pts from RMP, at $65, will pop and pour better than 99.9999% of the $65 wines in the world today.

Also, consider backfilling on the 1998s - the vintage was universally panned by the critics, as too cold and backwards and unyielding, with an overabundance of tannins and little if any fruit esters, so prices collapsed - but word on the street is that lately the 1998s are coming around very nicely:

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1998

And if you are at all AFWE-centric, then Tim Mondavi’s AFWE masterpiece, the 1995 Mondavi Reserve, with 20 years of bottle age on it, is widely available for $80 or less.

26

Off the top of my head:

Bedrock Bedrock Heritage, Pagani Heritage, Kirshenmann Zin
Quivet Whole Cluster Syrahs
Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot
Ceritas Chards
R-M Napa Cabernet
R-M Sonoma Coast Pinot
R-M Chards
Sandlands Trousseau & Carignane
Jemrose Viognier
Shane Syrah
Ridge Geezer
Carlisle, period
ACV Cabernet Reserve

27

Lewelling and EMH (a little over your price).

28

Look, I love Togni and appreciate your examples of how/where “off” vintages can be found for $65 or less but c’mon now, really? Regular pricing is always like $100+ for Togni.

29

Exactly - the thinking is that one bottle of Togni at $100+ and then waiting patiently for 25 or 30 years is better than all the $50 wines in the worldput together - and certainly better than any two $50 wines put together.

But you need to be able to guarantee the part about the 25 to 30 years - otherwise leave them in your will for the kids & the grandkids.

30

I got to thinking that maybe there might still be some Realm The Bard in the system, down around $50 or $60, but almost everything on Wine-Searcher is getting way out above $100.

Ugh.

31

Full agreement with the Chappellet folks. I was light on them in my first post. Basically ALL of their wines qualify here. Zin. Pinot. Las Piedras. Malbec. Their various clones. Cab Franc. These are all club wines, all under $55, most in the $40s. Huge value. I have more Chappellet in my cellar than any other brand by several cases.

32

Nathan, I very much appreciate your passion for Togni; imo, he makes one of the best, most age-worthy of Cabs in all of CA that’s equal to Monte Bello in most vintages. I’ve only recently started backfilling, have some 1997s and 2001s, hoping to find some 2002s and 2005s…

But that said, you’re really deviating from the OP - maybe start a new thread about the battle of $100 - $150 CA wines?

[cheers.gif]

33

Okay, there’s a 1998 Whitehall Lane, with outstanding Cellar Tracker notes, at Brentwood, auction ends in a few days, with a starting bid of $50.

That’s the sort of wine which I’d be targetting at $50.

And if you can get out around $75, and if you’re AFWE, then treat yourself to the 1995 Mondavi Reserve. Every AFWE-ist deserves to taste the 1995 M.R. at least once in this life.

34

Did Tim Mondavi even make a bad Reserve in the 90s?

35

It’s the in the top 3 California Cabs in my cellar too when you add their Pritchard Hill and Signature bottles together:

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1819751#p1819751

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1888653#p1888653

Sadly, I’m getting a little light on certain slightly aged vintages that were VERY good.

36

Other 1998s right now on free Wine-Searcher: the 1998 Sterling has outstanding Cellar Tracker notes, both the 1998 Fife & the 1998 Raymond have very good notes, and the 1998 BV Tapestry has so-so notes [probably because people were hoping for a fruit bomb but got an AFWE wine instead].

37

Well first Parker and then Laube started lambasting the guy for not making the fruit bombs they wanted, and eventually they got him fired from his job [at the family business]. Back then, AFWE was called “food friendly”, and Tim Mondavi was trying to make a “food friendly” reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, but Parker & Laube would have none of it.

The 1995 Mondavi Reserve might be the best AFWE red I’ve ever had - certainly on the Cabernet Sauvignon side of things.

38

What about Ramey - especially for those who like wines with a sense of European balance.

39
40

Ummm…“slight” thread drift??

+1000 on the entire Bedrock and Carlisle line-up. There’s a reason that combined they make up upwards of 65% of my Cellar.